User Reviews

What a good movie. It's hard to believe that the audience was considered so sensitive in 1947 that the original title, "Ace in the Hole," had to be dropped and replaced with this less ironic one. Viewers were thought unprepared for a film in which a reporter misbehaved, with lethal results.

"The Big Carnival" is one of the reasons the director, Billy Wilder, earned a reputation as a cynic. It was probably deserved. He had a keen sense of humor as well (Wilder: "I laugh at everything. I laugh at Hamlet.") but it's not much on display here. Instead we have a naive veteran pinned underground and an ambitious reporter (Kirk Douglas) who deliberately delays the rescue in order to squeeze the most out of the story. Instead of extracting the victim from the heart of the mountain the quick and easy way, Douglas talks the corrupt sheriff and engineer into doing it the long, slow, and ultimately lethal way. The tubby engineer caught in the middle is the unhappy Frank Jaquet. He mops his brow and imitates digging with none of the icononoclastic pizazz of William "Strata" Smith. Just a schlubb. Except for the victim, I felt sorrier for the engineer Smollett than for anyone else. Poor Louie Minosa. He catches pneumonia and dies after being given extreme unction. Douglas dies too, as the code of the time required.

Wilder's direction is fine. Douglas acquires a young acolyte and when they last speak together, the light is behind Douglas so that Douglas's sharp shadow blacks out almost all of the kid's face. In the last shot, from floor level, Douglas collapses and his dead face flops almost into the camera lens although the face is too dark to make out, his features, like his soul, in deep shadow. In another scene, Douglas is busily reading his mail and concocting additional material for the Big Story. Douglas again is in deep shadow. Beside him is the bright figure of Louie Minosa's wife, the trashy, blond Jan Sterling. She's a tough and narcissistic cookie out of Baltimore and, impressed by Douglas's power and his ability to bring in the bucks, she comes on to him with a wide and seductive smile. Douglas looks at her over his shoulder and says, "You're the grief-stricken wife, so stop smiling." "Make me," she replies, and he slaps her twice, hard, across the face.

It's a shocking moment and, despite Douglas's earlier casual chatter about his ambitions, the viewer suddenly realizes that this guy will stop at nothing. That is, he not only claims to be ruthless, he really MEANS it. "That's the expression I want to see," Douglas tells her smoothly. "Don't wipe those tears away." Everyone gives performances that are at least decent. Porter Hall, whom you will recognize, does a comic/dramatic turn as the stuffy and conservative editor of an Albuquerque newspaper. One of the few chuckles the viewer is allowed is when Douglas first asks Porter for a job and analyzes Porter as a small-time fellow because he wears both belt AND suspenders, compared to Douglas's flashy suit. A year goes by and we see Douglas too wearing both belt and suspenders. (He shucks the suspenders when he gets a job offer from New York.)

This is a finely made movie about two parallel scoops: an attempt to dig Louie Minosa out of his underground prison and Douglas's attempt to turn the story into a heady drama.

Kirk Douglas has often expressed his theory of acting: find the good in the bad and the bad in the good. In no role of his career do we see this at work more than his performance as Chuck Tatum in Billy Wilder's classic "Ace in the Hole". Tatum is a relentlessly ambitious and overtly cynical reporter exploiting a man's misfortune in being trapped in a cave for his own ends. But if that's all he was, he'd be driving away with a smile on his face at the end. But that's not all he is.

He's not the worst character in this gallery of rogues. Jan Sterling's non-suffering wife of the victim is a very cold fish and Ray Teal's sheriff is more of a cold-blooded reptile, like his pet snake. They don't give a damn if Leo lives or dies. It might be better if he's out of the way. But Tatum, even if he's the instigator of the drama, can't go that far. He's merely a rat, dangerous but warm-blooded. And that destroys him. Sterling and Teal move on, better off than they were. Tatum falls dead into the camera. You can have him for nothing.

Tatum's problem is that he isn't quite as bad as he wants to be. He's been treated ruthlessly by life some time in the past and he's in a competitive profession where compassion seems a weakness and the victor gets the spoils- and all the excitement. He put himself on overdrive to compete and show the world he can be as tough on it as it is on him. But he's not quite bad enough to not care about what he's doing to Leo. He's disgusted when he looks at the wife and sheriff and thinks that he's put himself on their level. He punches the sheriff and almost strangles the wife, but finds that doesn't liberate him form his own actions. Those actions have deprived him of the respect of anyone with any goodness left in them, including himself. You can have him for nothing because there's nothing left.

Perhaps Billy Wilder would feel vindicated today after putting this film down as one of his lesser achievements. His own background as a reporter in Vienna and Berlin most likely influenced this story of a cynical newspaper reporter who insinuates himself into his byline to influence events instead of merely reporting them. See, and I thought this was only a modern day inconvenient truth.

I didn't expect "Ace in the Hole" to be the gripping movie it turned out to be. Kirk Douglas is masterful in presenting a character so out of touch with basic human decency that he never considers that sometimes the law of unintended consequences can intrude on one's best laid plans. Down and out reporter Chuck Tatum (Douglas) happens upon a story in the making in the middle of a New Mexico desert, and his overblown ego takes command of the situation. A master manipulator, Tatum convinces a local corrupt sheriff (Ray Teal) to milk an underground rescue attempt to pile up votes for the next election, and together they bully a contractor (Frank Jaquet) to use a rescue method that will take six days instead of eighteen hours. Tatum also latches on to a local legend, the 'Mountain of the Seven Vultures' to add a tense note of mystery and foreboding to his copy, all in an effort to secure a prized position back at his former New York City newspaper.

It's hard not to become angry watching this picture because one instinctively knows that this type of stuff occurs on a daily basis in newsrooms across the country. It's gotten to the point where one can't really trust what appears in print or on the TV screen half the time today, a sorry state of affairs if one relies on accuracy in reporting for any reason at all. The carnival atmosphere that develops around the Leo Mimosa story must have seemed oddly unbelievable, even impossible back when the picture was made, but today it seems about par for the course.

One can figure out where this story is going after a certain point; all that's left is for the finger pointing to start. Admirably, for a creepy character like Tatum, he decides to blow the whistle on his own complicity in causing a man's death, but it's too little too late. The gawkers pack up and leave and those who profited from the spectacle are left to their own seamy existence, including the wife of the trapped miner (Jan Sterling), revealed as callous and hypocritical as the sheriff. In a nod to both true noir sensibility and demands of the Production Code, Chuck Tatum goes down for the final count as the picture closes, knowing just before he drops that the circus is finally over.

"Ace In The Hole" provides a brilliant and blistering account of how a media circus is cynically created, extended and manipulated purely to capitalise on the public's seemingly insatiable appetite for human interest stories. The main characters are motivated by greed and ambition and ruthlessly exploit the gross misfortune of another human being for their own dubious ends. Billy Wilder who produced, directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Walter Newman and Lesser Samuels, paints a grim picture of human nature in this story which is both fast moving and uncompromising.

Chuck Tatum (Kirk Douglas) is a newspaper reporter who finds himself out of luck and out of money when he arrives in Albuquerque, New Mexico with a broken down car and no job. He's a man who'd previously worked for a number of prestigious newspapers where his employment had been cut short due to a variety of problems including alcoholism, adultery and libel but his undoubted talent and his ability to sell himself, quickly gain him a job at the "Albuquerque Sun-Bulletin".

A year later, Tatum is assigned to cover a rattlesnake hunt but on his way he stops at a desert trading post where he discovers that the proprietor, Leo Minosa (Richard Benedict) has become trapped in a cave where he'd been searching for Indian artifacts. Tatum quickly recognises the story's potential and wastes no time in getting into the cave where he sees Minosa trapped under some timber beams. He talks to him, photographs him and assures him that he'll be rescued as soon as possible.

Tatum promptly calls his editor Jacob C Boot (Porter Hall) to tell him about the story which is a real scoop. To serve the purposes of the story, Tatum wants Minosa's wife Lorraine (Jan Sterling) to appear to be a devoted spouse who's distressed about Leo's predicament. She's completely uncaring, however, and wants to use the opportunity to leave Leo and their isolated home without delay. Tatum tries to make her feel guilty about her intentions and persuades her to change her mind.

Tatum makes a deal with corrupt local sheriff Gus Kretzer (Ray Teal) to ensure that he's the only reporter who's allowed access to Minosa and then the two men pressurise engineer Sam Smollett (Frank Jacquet) into carrying out the rescue operation by drilling a shaft through the rock rather than by simply shoring up the walls of the cave. The drilling operation is favoured because it would take about a week to complete and this would allow the story to be fully exploited. The shoring up option, by contrast, would result in the rescue being completed in less than a day.

Vast numbers of people soon arrive at the trading post and the grounds adjacent to the cave quickly fill up with tourists, reporters, hot dog stands and even a Ferris wheel. Lorraine makes spectacular profits, the sheriff receives flattering publicity to help his re-election campaign and Tatum uses his control of the whole event to be handsomely paid by a New York newspaper for them to be given the exclusive story. Later developments, however, derail Tatum's plans and the carnival atmosphere is soon brought to an end.

Kirk Douglas gives an incredibly powerful performance as the unscrupulous Chuck Tatum and Jan Sterling is very believable as the cold, callous and coarse Lorraine who is totally devoid of any redeeming qualities.

Commercially, "Ace In The Hole" was a spectacular failure and this was probably down to the fact that most of the people featured in the story are unsympathetic characters. Tatum, Kretzer and Lorraine are all despicable, unethical and opportunistic and don't have an ounce of sympathy between them for the unfortunate Minosa. The people who gather at the scene of the accident and turn it into a carnival are voyeuristic and grossly insensitive and the various business people on site simply regard Minosa's plight as an opportunity to make a quick profit. It's encouraging that in the years since its initial release, the merits of this movie have become more clearly recognised and it's appreciated as being even more relevant today than it was when it was made.

I first saw this film in 1951. At least two decades passed before it was occasionally shown on network TV, usually on local afternoon movie programs. The lack of a happy ending (to put it mildly) may have played a part.

A flop when it was originally released (and referred to by Billy Wilder as "the runt of the litter"), this movie is still not available in DVD or VHS. This is a shame, because it is a taut, very cynical, and extremely well-made rumination on the idea of media observation and manipulation, and the easy corruption of otherwise earnest citizens.

The movie also contains what I feel is the single greatest scene in all moviedom: An extremely high view of a trainload of gawkers arriving at the "big carnival" (the movie's alternate title), along with the soundtrack of a made-for-the-movie country-western song. You'll know it when you see it. Observe as well the hordes of people and cars, the cast of thousands, assembled for the exterior shots. This was not digital, it was casting and logistics and bullhorns and the gimlet-eyed vision of the director.

Do not miss this treasure!

In my opinion, Billy Wilder is one of the five best filmmakers that ever set foot in America; his ability to transform a beat-up formula to an entertaining, intelligent and classic old-time Hollywood flick is uncanny. He´s probably the BEST screenwriter of all time, too. His magic touch hits "The Big Carnival" like fire. The characters, in particular Chuck Tatum, one of Kirk Douglas´ greatest roles, are highly developed and interesting; there are no heroes here, and no evildoers either, just a bunch of working men who happen to have the easiest opportunity of their lives to gain a fortune over a fatal tragedy. The analysis of journalism contained in the movie is simple and clear; newspapers are meant to wrap up fish. Whats the matter if you can make some money in the process? It is the murder of the truth, if there is any. A brilliant film, one of Wilder´s best. See it.

I like a lot about the movie. Kirk Douglas often picked these very difficult roles where he had to play the slick guy with an evil side to him. It's something that is rarely seen in 50's movies. Kirk Douglas on the other hand played this role more often than not as it forces you to give 100% and he always did. An actor 30 years ahead of his time and constantly carries these older movies that otherwise are full of silliness and mediocre acting as you'd expect. Here the movie remains fairly serious. It never really dives into the typical 50's silliness, weird dialogue, silly plot, and flat acting where nothing makes logical sense. It's a serious story with an overly serious grim ending.

Jan Sterling looks glorious here with a very peculiar blonde look. And she and the other smaller roles are very fine here as they don't have to do too much. Kirk Douglas is in every scene here and carries it all.

Now, the story overall is good. We have Kirk Douglas the journalist make sure that the rescue team that is supposed to save a man stuck in a cave goes the long way in by drilling from the top. It takes days instead of a single day. Meanwhile he writes the story and gets popular and rich as it drags on for days. Jan Sterling wants to divorce the guy stuck in at the mine and date Douglas instead. Basically 2 big city outsiders are egotistical and want everything right now. They want money and big city life and hate being nobodies. The small town folk are overall good, but very gullible and are easily tricked by bad guys. The 50's setting is what makes the movie. The cars, technology, clotches, jobs. The setting makes the movie as the story is overly simple.

I'm not a fan of the ending. The caver just dies at the very end as they don't get to him in time. His wife then runs away to New York as she would have done anyhow. The parents are sad. Douglas dies as he doesn't tend to a stomach wound the wife gave him. I get that bad guys need to die if they do something bad. The old Hollywood code made sure you could always predict all endings. There is nothing deep to the story. I expected the ending and as I got it I felt like it belonged in a short film. I watched a long movie for an ending I already knew would come about if the operation failed - we know Douglas will die too then. I feel let down for sure. There is not much to figure out, no deeper or complicated moral values, no happy ending to tie it all together. It just stops all of a sudden. I liked the movie otherwise, but it's like it didn't dare to go anywhere interesting. We don't even see the cave digger die. So I was constantly wondering if Douglas just lied to people or if it happened. But as the ending continues for another few minutes you sorta get that this is it. Just this lazy outcome. He just died off screen!

I really wanted Douglas to grow from the experience. To get somewhere interesting and curious. It's not even clear how he convinced a whole digging crew to NOT rescue the man fast. Just a stupid outsider using the sheriff to force a professional crew to dig the long way. Makes no sense. Obviously they all belong in prison as they got a man killed. The professional crew listened to a fool. These small things make it unrealistic enough so that it doesn't really hit you hard emotionally. If you want a man to live then you can do this silly stuff and have viewers largely forget about it. If you want to kill him off you need to make it realistic not just force it. But it's a fun little flick that's above the usual 50's stuff. Everything besides the ending is fun enough. Maybe a remake is in order?

There are other cave rescue movies and they are all a bit low quality as they never try to follow real rescue missions, but just reimagine everything. This is such a movie too, but it's one of the stronger ones. The fact that it is old makes you want to look past some of the weaker stuff in it.

Many American movies indulge in overdrawn stereotypes and overblown themes, but I can't think of one that does it to this degree. The story line is simple enough: a tough guy alcoholic reporter stuck in Albuquerque delays a trapped miners rescue all to make big headlines. The story went over the deep end for me when he summarily dismissed the authority of the sheriff directing the rescue and took over the effort seemingly based solely on his loud mouth. In fact, throughout the film all characters are unaccountably putty in his hands. It seems society is just waiting for some arrogant tough with a kielbasa sausage in his zoot suit pants to assume command. The trapped man is pathetic and incidentally unaware his wife is a floozy, getting it on of course with you-know-who. Nothing original there.

Continually driving home the infantile message about the crassness of society is a brass band loudly grinding out the trite Leo Minosa rescue song every time the camera goes outside the cave. With autos full of sightseers streaming in continually, there is now also a Ferris Wheel and merry-go-round, along with innumerable concessions. You might even go so far as to say that it has become a 'media circus'. Despite the comic book level of subtlety in hammering home this

'message', certain aspects of the film are okay. The role of Minosa's wife is played pretty well. She looks particularly convincing just the way she wears the late 40's clothing.

The newsroom set and the New Mexico location provide interest, but what a waste.

It would be easy to say my criticism of this flick is really a general criticism of the sophistication of films of that time, but I could cite too many films which would be above that criticism and I doubt many are below this one. Lucky thing for me Douglas' character isn't alive to loose one into my ugly mush for saying so.